Breakthrough
by Darth Garak
Summary: As the Mandalorian Wars continue, the Republic is desperate to stop the onslaught but will they be able to hold?


Breakthrough

Sitting at the head of the table in his conference room, Admiral Antillies felt old even though he was only 37 years old. _This war is taxing us to the maximum_. He stared at the holographic map floating in front of him. It showed the Galactic Republic, the area of space it occupied colored in blue, the worlds not part of it colored in brown and those that have fallen, colored in bright, arterial red. Those red worlds were stabbing into the Republic like a dagger. _I wonder if the dagger will continue to sink in or twist and compound the damage._

"Sir?" asked one the captains seated at the table, bringing Antillies out of his dreams. "I asked if we are getting any reinforcements?"

Antillies sighed and leaned back in his chair. "There will be no reinforcements." He said and inwardly cringed. "The Navy is pressured as it is and there are no ships to send over here. Face it people, there just aren't enough ships in the Republic to reinforce every threatened position."

"What about the First and the Second ?" asked Captain Graves.

"Those fleets are stationed close to Coruscant in case the Mandalorians bypass our lines and launch a surprise attack."

Graves snorted. "Bypass our lines… what a load of bantha dung." Antillies gave the man a look that suggested such behavior would not be tolerated but Graves continued. "Those fleets are there to evac the Senators if the Mandies get within a hundred parsecs of Coruscant."

"That's enough, _Captain_." Said Antillies, stressing the word Captain. "We fight with what we have, not what we wish we had or what we should have." He looked at the other captains at the table and they nodded silently.

"Sir?" asked Captain Zass. "Are we 'gonna deploy around Neimoidia?"

"Yes. Since Balmorra fell, the Mandalorians are positioned perfectly to hit a number of Core worlds. They could hit Alderaan, the shipyards at Kuat or Humbarine. "

"Humbarine is a ecumenopolis, the whole planet is a city." Said Zass. "I see no reason for the Mandies to attack there. Also the defences are considerable, they would take heavy casualties in taking it."

"Unless they nuke it." Muttered Graves. "Like they did Serroco." A silence fell over the meeting as the captains thought about that horrid possibility. "Alderran is full of poets...it's a beautiful planet but it's worthless." Shaking his head, Graves pointed at the other planet the Admiral mentioned. "The bastards will go for Kuat. Take out the shipyards and we're dead in the water. Everyone knows Fondor, Rendili and Bilbringi don't have the same output as Kuat."

"Kuat is well defended." Said Antillies. "But I don't think they'll hit the Core worlds, not yet."

"Why is that?"

"Because it would make much more sense for them to bleed us. Think about this," said Antillies, pointing at a planet "if they hit Denon, they cut the Hydian Way and the Corellian Run. That would mean the Core worlds would be deprived of some resources. Once they have Denon, they can move on Duro and then Corellia. Once Corellia has fallen they can use our own trade routes, which are pretty fast because that's the whole point, and hit Brentaal."

"That would put them close to Coruscant." Said Graves. "But we can halt them at Corulag."

Antillies shook his head. "Not if they take Borleias. From there it's one jump to Coruscant."

The captains stared at the map in silence, their faces grim. No one wanted to point to the fact that the Mandalorians could attack Bogden from Taris and then jump to Borleias. It was to grim to even think about. The Republic had won the Great Hyperspace War against the Sith Empire and the Sith War against the combined armies of the Sith, Krath and Mandalorians. But now it looked like the Mandalorians were too much.

"So what do you propose we do?" asked Graves.

"Strike Group One, under my command, will remain here at Neimoidia. I'll set up the defence and hope to stop any attack. Strike Group Two, commanded by Captain Zass, will head toward Carida." There were some protests about this move but Antillies would hear none of it. "Carida has asked for help..."

"And so have we!" shouted Graves.

"And we will aid them." Finished Antillies without missing a beat. "The Academy at Carida is important and it's loss would affect us deeply. Most of our best troops came from the Carida Academy."

"Carida will not fall on my watch." said Zass.

"Good." Turning toward Graves, Antillies continued "Strike Group Three will stage at Commenor just in case the Mandalorians strike there. And Strike Group Four, commanded by Captain Tavic, will stage at Cato Neimoidia and set up defences there in case the line breaks here." Antillies rose and looked at the assembled officers, they were all ready to stand and fight. "Is everyone clear on what they are to do?"

The officers nodded and rose as well. They saluted the Admiral and left the conference room. Antillies watched them leave and noticed two officers heading his way. One was Major Travers, from infantry, and the other was Colonel Solo, from the starfighters. The two saluted him and waited for him to salute back. Sighing in annoyance of military protocols, Antillies saluted.

"What is it?" he asked.

Travers seemed surprised by the Admiral's bluntness but Solo didn't miss a beat.

"I wanted to inform you, Admiral, that half my fighters are gone and with the casualties among the pilots just as high, what with the KIAs, WIA s and the POWs, I can deploy only 30 of my normal force."

"I know Colonel. But what choice do we have? We can't run and abandon worlds, that would only make us lose this war faster. I have faith in your pilots and I promise to try and get you some replacements."

"Thank you, Sir. Someone would say that the odds were really against us but..."

"But we're Corellians and we have no use for odds, Colonel." Antillies grinned. "If nothing else we'll make the Mandalorians fear Corellians." He saluted again and Colonel Solo departed. Turning toward Major Travers, the Admiral waited for the man to speak.

"If we are going to defend this planet, do I have permission to deploy my troops?" asked the Major.

"Yes Major, you may deploy. But be sure you can retreat quickly if we lose the fight in space. I don't want to see a repeat of Balmorra. We lost too many troops there."

"I will, Sir." Saluting the Major left. And Admiral Antillies was finally alone. He walked to his chair and sat down, closing his eyes and wondering how he would stop the Mandalorian advance. _There has to be a way. There has to be._

Because if there wasn't, then the Republic was doomed.

-G-

Aboard the Mandalorian Dreadnaught _Tracyn Kad_ (Fire Saber), Bralor was sitting on his bunk, polishing his armor. He didn't do it because he wanted to look impressive on the battlefield but because uncared for equipment tended to breakdown when you needed it the most. And a Mandalorian never had uncared for equipment. The door to the barracks opened and Kelborn walked in, carrying a platter with food piled high on it. He spotted Bralor and walked over to him.

"Can I join you?" asked Kelborn.

"Sure, my home is your home, ner vod." Replied Bralor. It was the proper thing to ask permission to join someone while that person was busy. Kelborn sat on the empty bunk opposite Bralor. The Mandalorian noticed that there was uj cake on the platter and his mouth watered but he didn't say anything since asking for some else's food was rude. Kelborn pulled a vibroblade from it's sheath and carefully, almost reverentially, cut the cake in two even slices. Without a word having passed between the two Mandalorians, Kelborn offered a slice to Bralor. He accepted and they nodded toward each other then ate in silence.

"Where do you think we're headed next?" asked Bralor after they ate.

Kelborn shrugged. "Commenor maybe?"

"You know where I wish we were going?"

"Where?"

"Alderaan. Heard there are some nice flat plains there, just perfect for setting up a farm."

"Rich soil?"

"That's what I heard."

Kelborn was about to say something when the door opened and Mira stormed in. It was clear to everyone that she was angry and looking for an excuse, any excuse, to beat someone to the point of unconsciousness.

"Should we ask her what's wrong?" said Bralor, who didn't know Mira as well as Kelborn, who was shaking his head.

"No." he replied. "Best to leave her alone. I saw her mad before… she was as fierce as a rabid zakkeg." Bralor shook his head and gave a very audible sigh. His face went pale when he saw Mira headed toward them.

"Rabid zakkeg at six o'clock." He muttered to Kelborn. The latter rolled his eyes and mentally prepared himself for something painful. It came as something as a surprise when Mira didn't hit anything or said anything but simply sat down beside Kelborn. She didn't appear to notice the silent Bralor and Kelborn wondered if Mira was aware of anyone at the moment. After a few moments of embarrassing silence, in which neither man dared even breathe, Mira picked up the empty platter and threw it with all her strength at the far wall. It clanged loudly and fell to the floor.

"Te utyc di'kut!" (The slimy idiot!) she yelled.

Both men, hardened warriors who could scare the life out of an entire Republic regiment, silently wished they could become invisible. Angry Mandalorian women tended to be something of a minor disaster. It was similar to having a nuke blow up in your face, only it didn't end as fast.

"DI'KUT!" yelled Mira again. Then she seemed to calm down, or at least remain out of targets at which to direct her anger. She stared ahead for a few seconds, then she looked at Kelborn.

"Next time you have a suicide mission to offer someone, give it to Sherruk." She said.

Now Kelborn understood. Sherruk was an arrogant or'dinii (moron) who thought he was better than everyone else. As a result he tended to annoy just about everyone.

"What did he do now?" asked Kelborn.

"I won't give you details but if he ever again describes my body in a lustful way, I'm gonna rip off his…" Mira didn't get to finish because Kelborn placed a hand on her shoulder and told her to calm down.

"Does anyone else know he talked to you this way?" he asked.

She looked puzzled and thought about it. "I may have muttered something about it." She said, then looked quizzically at Kelborn. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

Shaking his head and getting up, Kelborn looked at her and replied. "How do you think Sol will react when he hears of this?"

Understanding appeared on her face, only to be replaced by a wolfish grin. "Sherruk deserves it." She said.

"Sherruk is older than Sol" said Bralor "and far more experienced. He's gonna mop the deck with the kid." Putting aside his armor, he rose and looked at Kelborn. "Shall we?"

"Why not." Replied the man. "Besides if Canderous finds out I let Sol get beaten up, he's gonna put me in a missile launcher and send me toward the Republic fleet."

Trying hard not to laugh, Bralor led the way with Mira following after them.

It didn't take long to find Sol. They just had to follow the loud crashing sounds. They came to a storage bay where a large group of Mandalorians had gathered.

"What is this?" asked Bralor.

"Sol and Sherruk are fighting." Replied a large Togorian in silver armor. "So far, Sol is…" he was interrupted by a loud crash that sounded as if half the deck had collapsed. The Togorian turned toward another Mandalorian and shouted a question. Bralor couldn't hear the answer but the Togorian's fine ears didn't have any problems. The large, feline alien grinned and said. "That crash was Sol hitting the missile rack." The Togorian chuckled. "Bad move on Sherruk's part."

"Why?" asked Mira.

Before the Togorian could respond, another crash sounded.

"Because now Sol has something to throw at his opponent." That statement was followed by yet another crash, and a lot of cursing. "That's Sherruk…sounds like he got hit by something."

Shaking his head at the lunacy of it all, Bralor pushed his way to the front of the crowd. When he reached the door he was amazed to see that the storeroom looked worse than a battlefield. Everything that was not bolted down had been thrown across the room. The two combatants didn't look any better. Sol had one eye swollen shut and blood running down his face while Sherruk's face was an unrecognizable mess. Both men were breathing quickly and were barely standing.

Sol yelled an inarticulate cry and charged the older man. Sherruk dodged Sol's charge and let fly with a punch to the man's back. Sol fell but he quickly turned and sent a kick that caught his opponent on the chin. Before Sherruk could regain his senses, Sol was all over him, punching and kicking like mad. Sherruk blocked some of the blows but most got through and he quickly lost consciousness. Still Sol kept punching him until two Mandalorians grabbed him and pulled him up. He was still kicking and screaming when a blow to the head left him limp. Kelborn shook his head, he didn't want to hit the kid but he had gone mad.

"Take him to the barracks." He told the two who held Sol. Then he turned toward Sherruk. "Take him to his barracks as well and keep him there."

-G-

Major Travers walked toward his Field Command Post and ducked his head at the low entrance. He had landed all of his troops and set up a line of trenches surrounding the capital city. A shield generator was located in the city and, theoretically, it could project a shield strong enough to withstand any bombardment. Sadly, the shield had never been tested against the kind of firepower the Mandalorians usually deployed. AA-guns had been set up on the perimeter along with anti-infantry and anti-vehicle guns. Six million mines had been set in place, most of them having been put there the moment the war had started. The soldiers were ready to fight and battle droids were being held in reserve in case the Mandalorians broke through the line. An armored company was waiting in the heart of the city, along with a tank battalion but Travers didn't know who much good they would do.

In case the trenches were taken, a second line of defense had been established a few blocks away and every street corner fortified. The Neimoidians weren't happy about all this but they had some of their soldiers holding the second defense line. And in case the city could not be held, shuttles were waiting at the main government building. _Now all that's left, is for the Mandalorians to show up_.

"Any reports from the fleet?" he asked the comm. operator.

"Nothing, Sir." Replied Corporal Cheng. He had been sent up to a medical frigate after being wounded on Balmorra and was one of the lucky few who had gotten off the planet alive. The medics had fitted him with a prosthetic leg so he could walk again, but he hated the clunking thing. It was heavy and odd and he couldn't run at all. _I'm going to have to get a better one after all of this is over_, he thought. _If I'm still alive, that is_.

-G-

A few hours after meeting with Admiral Antillies, Strike Group Three under Captain Graves aboard the _Reckless_ arrived at Commenor. Graves immediately contacted the planetary government and told them to mobilize all units at their disposal and prepare for possible invasion. Graves thought it was all a waste of time since the Mandies would strike at Kuat. But orders were orders and he would follow them. Let Antillies be disgraced for losing Kuat. Maybe he would be replaced and Graves knew he was the logical choice. At 45 he had more combat experience than Antillies. True, it was Antillies who anticipated the strike at Balmorra while Graves argued it would be at Manaan. But even so, Antillies couldn't hold the planet.

Sitting in his captain's chair on the bridge, Graves smiled at the thought that Antillies would lose yet again.

-G-

Aboard his flagship, Mandalore gazed at a map of the galaxy. He was carving his own empire out of the frail body of the Republic. It felt good to know that he was the leader of the best warriors in the galaxy. Better than the Jedi, the Sith or any other. As he contemplated his next moves Mandalore idly wondered what his "partners" might be doing. He didn't doubt that they would seek to destroy him as soon as he took the Republic and scattered the Jedi. _Never trust the Sith_, he thought.

It was the Sith that actually started this war. They had approached Mandalore and offered him the chance to fight the ultimate foe. To beat the Republic and the Jedi and erase the memory of past defeats. It was a chance that Mandalore took for he loathed the way they had been defeated at Onderon all those years ago. _But after that_, a grim smile touched his lips, _we'll_ _show the Sith who the real warriors are_.

Yes, after conquering the Republic and the Jedi, he would turn this vast armada around and destroy the Sith as well. And the galaxy shall know a new order. It will learn discipline and unity. It will learn to value family and friends above petty power struggles. It will be a Mandalorian galaxy. The thought pleased Mandalore. He would bring the galaxy out of this darkness and chaos and into a new, golden era.

The door to his cabin silently opened and Cassus Fett silently walked in. He stood there, waiting for his leader to acknowledge his presence. After a few seconds, Mandalore turned around and Fett punched his right fist over his heart and performed a short bow.

"What do you have to report?" asked Mandalore.

"Good news." Mandalore could tell Fett was smiling under his helmet. "We have taken the world known as Carida. The Republic fleet fought until the last ship was destroyed and their ground forces have surrendered."

"Good. What news from Ordo?"

"He has left for the staging point and will be ready to strike in two days. I have already sent the signal to our ground teams. They only await for Ordo's fleet now."

"And our other fleet?"Asked Mandalore, referring to the ships he had sent to capture more Outer Rim planets.

"They have taken Tholatin and will soon invade Hutt space." Fett laughed, a short, brutal laugh. "The Hutts have already contacted us and said they would pay us vast amounts of credits if we don't invade them."

"What did you tell them?"

"I told the fat slugs that their offer is not acceptable and we shall negotiate again when we talk face to face." Scorn dripped from Fett's every word. "They almost fainted when they realized we would attack them, no matter what they do."

"Good. Once the Hutts are out of the way, we can deal with the Bothans. Their ships have been sighted at Kuat, reinforcing the Republic fleet."

"The Bothans will be interesting opponent. I hear they play dejarik."

Mandalore chuckled lightly. "Careful you don't run into a better player, Cassus."

"There is no one who could beat me aside from you and you know that Mand'alore."

-G-

"One nerfburger." Said the man known as Kex.

"That will be four credits."

"Here you go." He said, dropping the credits in the woman's hand. It was raining outside and he didn't like it. Actually he didn't like the entire planet. It was simply offensive. The woman gave him the nerfburger and he walked away. He wasn't crazy about it, nerf meat being somewhere on the bottom of his list of good food, but it sure beats the slop at the refugee camp.

Walking in the capital of Neimoidia, he was not surprised to see so much activity from the military. They were preparing for an invasion after all. Biting into the burger he rounded a corner and saw a squad of Neimoidian soldiers clustered around command vehicle. He kept walking, not trying to avoid the group and keeping all of his attention on the burger in his hands. It didn't take long until the soldiers turned his way.

"Step away." Said one.

"What?" said Kex, startled to see the soldiers moving toward him. "What did I do?"

"This area is off limits to refugees." Said one of the soldiers. "Get back to your ship and stay there." The Neimoidian's flat face tried to look intimidating but Kex was hardly impressed by them. He knew their type and wasn't about to waste time with them. Then he caught a glimpse of a humanoid outline moving behind the Neimoidians. The figure approached the command vehicle, stopped moving for a few moments and then walked away.

"Okay, I'll go." He told the soldiers and turned around and left. He turned the corner and almost bumped into a man that emerged out of a side ally. The man pulled a cloak tight about himself but Kex got just a glimpse of a stealth field belt.

"You should be more careful." He told the man. "I saw you there at the vehicle."

"Yeah but the soldiers didn't." replied Xarga. Seeing the nerfburger, and knowing Kex wasn't very happy with it, he pointed at it. "You gonna eat that or…"

"You can have it." Said Kex and gave the burger to Xarga.

"Thanks." Xarga began wolfing down the burger while the two men walked back toward their ship. They had been on Neimoidia for a month now but they knew they wouldn't stay there to long now. They didn't talk until they got back to their ship and got out of their street clothes and into their normal, everyday gear. Kex's comlink beeped and he pulled it from his belt.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We got a message, sir." Said the woman on the other side of the link. "Our missing family members will be here in two days."

Both Kex and Xarga looked at each other and grinned. Happiness filled them at the wonderful news. Kex ended the transmission and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ordo's coming." Said a grinning Xarga.

-G-

Captain Zass was just thinking about how long the trip to Carida would take when the white tunnel of light they were traveling through shattered into a million bright lines that then resolved into stars. They had arrived at their first stop from where they would plot the next jump but before he could issue any orders, alarms began blaring all over the ship.

"Sensors, what's happening?" asked Zass.

"SHIPS!" yelled the sensor operator, his voice totally out of control. "MANDALORIAN SHIPS!"

As Zass looked out the transparantsteel viewport he saw a Mandalorian fleet floating in space. He noticed that all the ships were turning his way. _They've seen us_, he realized. He desperately wished he was aboard his Courageous-class command ship, the _Liberty_, rather than this Hammerhead-class cruiser. Sadly the _Liberty_ was lost over Balmorra and he was forced to transfer his command to this ship. Putting aside all regrets he concentrated on the present and the task at hand.

"Shields up!" he yelled. "Power up all weapons and launch the Aurek fighters."

The bridge crew got to work executing his orders and relaying them to the rest of their group. The Republic ships shifted into a wedge formation with the _Furious_, Zass' ship, in the tip. Aurek fighters swarmed out of every ship and took a screening formation in front of the capital ships.

"All ships, fire at will." Said Zass.

As the Republic cruisers opened fire, the Mandalorian fighters and basilisks were racing toward them. Turbolaser bolts flew past the Mandalorian fighters, sometimes hitting one and turning it into a briefly lived nova, and hit the Mandalorian capital ships. The shields glowed red were the lasers splashed over them, without penetrating. Battleships and dreadnaughts targeted the Republic fleet and fired in a single salvo that collapsed the shields of several ships and tore through them, leaving them crippled in space.

The starfighters buzzed like an angry swarm, each trying to get a lock on an enemy and kill him. Starfighter prayed on starfighter in a confusing fight for survival. Some used lasers and others used missiles to destroy opponents. Some were not careful and collided with other fighters or the capital ships. One squadron of Aurek fighters swept down on four Mandalorian ships and opened fire on them. The Aureks were so focused on their prey that they did not notice the basilisk war-droids taking position behind them. The basilisks took out the Aureks in one devastating volley that left only some barely recognizable debris behind. The four Mandalorian fighters continued to speed toward their target and launched their missiles at a Republic corvette. The missiles impacted the shield but only one managed to hit the hull. Wounded, the corvette turned around, trying to escape when the fighters returned and fired again, this time destroying it's engines. Finding it's self a sitting duck, the corvette filled space around it with hot, red light as it fired it's lasers like mad but the fighters returned yet again and launched a final salvo. The missiles hit the corvette amidships and it broke in two section, each drifting away from the other, each spilling it's crew into the cold void.

On the left flank of the Republic formation, things were no better. Two cruisers had fallen to the basilisks and the war droids were already angling in on another target. A flight of Aruek fighters tried to stop them but the basilisks just blasted through them with no mercy and began pounding the cruiser. They ran close to the hull and used their heavy brawling claws to tear guns from the hull, ripping the ship apart one piece at a time. One basilisk carried a mine which it placed on an airlock. When the mine exploded, it took a full minute for the crew to seal off the damaged area, by which time forty men were dead.

The two flotillas closed in on each other, filling space with laser light and missiles, turning it into a very deadly place. One frigate, distracted by the firestorm, sifted power to it's frontal shields and blew up in a golden explosion as the basilisks fired their missiles at it's suddenly vulnerable rear. The _Furious_ tried to turn the wedge a bit, to hit the Mandalorian fleet in the side but the lead dreadnaught saw it. Turbolaser batteries and ion cannons swivelled and traversed, targeting the Republic ship. Light tore from already superheated alloy barrels, and blinding flashes strobed in the distance.

A corvette tried unsuccessfully to evade the barrage. Skewered by laser spears, it disappeared in an golden globe of fire while the _Furious_ had to shunt power to the shields to withstand the barrage. Basilisk war droids advanced in an unstoppable cloud forging through the intense hail and swarming into the midst of the starfighter groups. Well maintained formations broke apart as ships tried to evade the basilisks but it was to no avail as the war droids hunted down and destroyed their targets. Wingmates fought to remain together but more often than not found themselves alone, forced into fighting one-on-one with the Mandalorians, who always won those fights. Locked into fierce fights, opponents jinked and looped through evasive manoeuvres that they hoped would save their lives.

Counter fire from the Republic ships silenced the lead dreadnaught as it retreated behind it's shields. The ship endured storm after storm of lasers and missiles hitting it's shields. All who looked at the ship saw frenzied electricity dance and coruscate at the boundaries of the great ship's invisible barriers.

Waiting for the right moment, the dreadnaught opened fire with all of it's guns in a blinding display of firepower that tore through two Republic cruisers like they were made out of flimsiplast. Two Mandalorain gunships flanked the dreadnaught, protecting it from the Aurek fighters. Pounding discharges from their guns vaporised dozens of fighters. Some evaded the firestorm by skill or pure luck but most were destroyed before they knew what had happened to them.

The two fleets were closing fast, saturating space with lasers and missiles and destroying everything caught between them. One squadron of Aurek fighters simply vanished without a trace in the firestorm. Shots from a Mandalorian battleship sliced into a Republic corvette along it's axis, destroying it completely as it's reactor went critical.

A chaotic melee raged as basilisks, Mandalorian fighters and Aureks mixed it up, ferociously and with grim resolve. The starfighters came out of smooth rolls, inverted dives, and predatory banks to go to guns with their prey, riding them until they were annihilated. Other ships revectored, racing through fragment clouds to escape the carnage or form up for reengagement, sometimes slewing wildly out of control. It was a battle to the death and there were no wounded in this kind engagement, only victors and losers.

The _Furious_ and the dreadnaught were trading broadsides now, filling space between them with so much energy that it looked as if whole sheets of energy united the two ships. A frigate caught in the middle vanished in a spectacular explosion as it left only scraps of fast cooling durasteel by the damage done, the dreadnaught upped the ante sending even more coherent light into it's target and peeling off layers of durasteel hull in blistering explosion that began to coat the side of the cruiser facing the Mandalorian ship. Weapons blazed and flared so bright as to be blinding, as they tried to annihilate their foe.

Aboard the _Furious_, Captain Zass tried to get back into his command chair when the ship was rocked again by heavy fire. The comm. wailed with shouts and panicked voices.

"Red Six, basilisk on your six!"

"Thanks for the heads up. I can handle him."

"I've got your wing Ten."

"Green Two, give me a fix on Five! I can't see him!"

"Kark you! I've got my own problems now!"

"Behind you Red Two! You got two ships inco...AAAGGGHHH!"

"I can't shake them! Need help now!"

"Hold on!"

"Six were are you?"

"He's karking free floating atoms One!"

"Kark you Four! I'm right here!"

"The who's the space debris?"

"What's the status of the ship?" asked Zass.

"Batteries one through six are gone!"

"Hull breach at levels 13,14,15 and 17! Emergency crews are trying to contain the damage!"

"Grey leader I got war droids all around me! I can't last much…."

"Pull away Two! Pull away!"

"This is the _Erratic_! We are taking heavy fire! Multiple hull breaches!"

"Divert all non-essential power to the shields!" yelled Zass. He hoped his ship could withstand the pounding it was getting. Then the ship shook again. It began tipping to one side, it's guns still firing like mad and it's sensor arrays turned into molten durasteel. Lasers and missiles kept pounding it until the hull lost integrity and began venting atmosphere into the cold space. The artificial gravity stopped working and hatches, weapon pods and viewports blew. Then the vacuum sucked the helpless crew into the frozen night where they would drift for eternity. That was the grave of the Navy.

With the _Furious_ out of the fight, the Republic fleet began to waver. Their confidence was shattered and the ships tightened ranks only to find themselves surrounded on ALL sides by the Mandalorians. With no mercy at all the Mandalorian fleet proceeded to dismantle the Republic fleet, one ship at a time. Turbolaser bolts and missiles turned the remaining ships into armored coffins for their crew.

In an hour of brutal fighting, ninety Republic ships had been destroyed while only twenty Mandalorian were lost. Fifty thousand Mandalorians had died and the Republic had lost two million seven hundred thousand men and women. Captain Zass' Strike Group was no more.

Another victory for the Mandalorians.

-G-

Aboard the Mandalorian Dreadnaught _Kar'ta Tor_ (Heart of Justice) Canderous Ordo surveyed the battlefield before him. He was pleased with the outcome. The fleet was probably heading toward Carida but now it was going nowhere. _Less ships at my target_, he thought.

Beside him, Derek looked pale.

"It was a fair fight Republic."said Canderous.

"They were outnumbered."

"Not by that much. They fought well but in the end we beat them."

Derek didn't say anything. He was confused. Part of him hated the Mandalorians while another part liked them. Canderous said he would show Derek the Mandalorian culture and already he had seen much. The Mandalorians seemed to care about family a lot, which Derek could understand but it still didn't explain why they were the best warriors in the galaxy.

"Where to now?" he asked.

Canderous grinned and turned to look at him. "You'll find out soon enough." He kept staring out at the battlefield. A gutted cruiser drifted in front of his ship, crew and cargo spilling from it's ruptured cargo holds. Frozen bubbles of coolant were escaping from a corvette, it's bridge a gaping hole. Off to the right a body floated, the man's face frozen in an expression of pain. As the body continued to spin, it turned toward Canderous and the Mandalorian could see that the soldier was missing the left side of his head, frozen pieces of flesh and other gore floating near him. And behind the soldier, much to the Mandalorian's amusement, drifted a severed arm, it's dead fingers still holding the cigarette the man had been smoking before his death.

Derek couldn't look at the dead anymore and he turned away and left the bridge, the Mandalorian tasked with guarding him following. The guard, a woman called Ulya who often talked to him, didn't say anything and for that Derek was glad. He was angry…angry at the Republic, angry at the Mandalorians, angry at the galaxy. He wanted this war to end but he knew it wouldn't be that simple. And he wasn't sure who he wanted to win this war. And that scared him.

-G-

Sol sat down in front of the gun controls with a heavy sigh. He and Sherruk had been punished for fighting like a couple of di'kutla. Sherruk, because he started the fight by insulting Mira, was down in the torpedo bay, loading the launchers. Sol had been sent to the bridge to operate one of the guns from there. It irked him that he would be fighting from here instead of from his basilisk. He ached all over but that didn't hurt as much as Kelborn's admonishments.

"If you want to fight then take it up in the battle circle not one of the missile storage compartments!"

And yet he felt pretty good about the whole thing. Maybe it was because of the gratitude he saw in Mira's eyes. She had smiled and promised to check up on him after the battle. That lifted Sol's spirits.

"Coming out of hyperspace." Shouted the man at the ship's helm.

"Understood." Said the Captain.

Sol looked at his monitor and it suddenly lit up with information. He could see the planet, Commenor, in the distance and a Republic fleet in front of it.

"Enemy spotted." Shouted the woman at the sensors.

"Power up the shields and launch all fighters and basilisks." Responded the Captain. "Give me targeting solutions for the Republic fleet and prepare to signal Hammer and Anvil."

Sol scanned the fleet ahead of them and selected the closest ship. The scanners zoomed in on the ship but at this distance all Sol could make out was a brick shaped thing so he waited for the computer to try and ID the ship. The computer beeped after a few seconds and Sol stared at the monitor, the computer had tentatively indentified the ship as a frigate. Sol shrugged, knowing at this distance it hardly mattered, and gave the computer the order to lock onto the ship. The information was sent to one of the torpedoes waiting in the launch tubes and the torpedo now knew who to hunt.

-G-

"Mandalorian fleet has entered the system!" yelled the sensor operator.

"What?" shouted Graves. "Where?" Looking out the forward view port he couldn't see anything.

"On the other side of the system, Sir." Reported the sensor operator.

Graves frowned, wondering what the Mandies were doing there. _Doesn't matter_, he decided. They probably had a malfunction in their hyperdrive and it dumped them in the wrong place. Or they can't calculate a proper jump.

"How many ships?" he asked.

"Ten ships, Sir."

Graves laughed and slapped his palm on the arm of his chair. The Mandies had erred and he would make them pay for this mistake.

"Move us and the rest of group one toward them while groups two and four flank us. Leave group three behind to defend the planet just in case." Said Graves. He smiled as the men and women under his command went to work on his orders, none of them asking him why he gave those orders. Unlike Antillies who didn't let him do anything that might gain him some recognition and much deserved respect.

"Power up shields and weapon." Said Graves. "Launch all fighters and have them take an inverted V formation in front of us. I don't want any Mandie fighters getting through."

-G-

Admiral Antillies was just about to retire for the day when his comlink beeped. Groaning in frustration, he answered it.

"Yes was it?" he asked.

"Sir, incoming message for you from Coruscant." Said the ensign on the other end.

"I'm on my way." Replied Antillies. With another groan he headed back toward the bridge.

From Coruscant. It could only be the Senate, asking him about how the war was going. _The war is going just great_, thought the Admiral, _the Mandalorians are kicking the stuffing out of us_. With each step his anger grew and by the time he reached the bridge he was clenching and unclenching his hands.

Walking over to the comm. station he motioned for the ensign to move aside. The man did so and Antillies sat in the chair. He answered the call and a small hologram appeared on his right. He instantly recognized the Supreme Chancellor and wandered what he wanted.

"Good day Chancellor." He said, forcing himself to be polite.

"Actually it's night here" replied the man "but it is a good day."

"Why? Have the Jedi finally joined us or have the Mandalorians surrendered?" Antillies barely managed to keep any trace of sarcasm out of his voice.

"Neither I'm afraid." Said the Chancellor. "It is a good day because we have gotten word, through our spy network, that the Mandalorians have moved a significant number of ships from one of their staging areas."

"Then they're going to attack us. I don't see anything good about it."

"They already have attacked us." The Chancellor's voice was grim and he looked off to his right for a moment.

"Where did they attack?" asked Antillies, fearing something bad had happened.

"Carida." Said the Chancellor. "The planet has fallen and all our forces there have been lost."

Antillies sat in shocked silence, not noticing the general silence that had fallen over the bridge.

"I sent one of my Strike Groups there."

"Then I am afraid they are dead as well."

Antillies slammed his fist on the console next to the holopad and let out a stream of curses. The Chancellor had the presence of mind not the say anything while the Admiral was venting his anger. An entire Strike Group and the world of Carida lost. He felt sick. Trying hard not to break something he felt fear clawing at his heart. _Is there no way of stopping them_?

"Admiral." Said the Chancellor softly.

Antillies looked at the hologram and whished he could shoot the entire Republic Senate. Bureaucrats running a war was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Because the Mandalorians have moved so many ships, the staging area where they left from is now vulnerable and open to attack."

"You want me to defend this line and attack the Mandalorians? Sir I don't have enough ships for that."

"I know that. Which is why I have sent a volunteer fleet to defend Neimoidia while you attack the Mandalorians."

"A volunteer fleet?"

"Ships from worlds outside the Republic that have, nonetheless, decided to help us."

"You mean mercenaries, Sir."

"Their motives are not our concern…"

"But you are paying them…"

"Just as we are paying you Admiral."

"You're paying me because I'm in the Navy and I have sworn an oath to defend this Republic. The money you are giving to the mercs could be better used to make to new ships."

"Admiral I will not debate this with you." Said the Chancellor, steel entering his voice. "You will recall you Strike Groups and gather at Kuat from where you'll attack the Mandalorian staging point. This conversation is over." And with that, the hologram vanished.

Antillies leaned back in the chair and blew out his breath. What a mess this was. Rubbing his eyes with his right hand he wondered how long it would take to get Major Travers and his troops off the planet.

After a while he noticed the silence on the bridge. He turned around and gazed at the crew members who were all staring at him.

"Send a message to Major Travers to pack up his stuff and get up here as soon as possible." The crew got to work and he got up feeling more tired than he had in days. "And send a message to Strike Groups Three and Four to meet up with us at Kuat."

Then, without another word, he left the bridge and went to try and get some sleep. And shake the feeling that something very bad was about to happen.

-G-

Xarga was sitting on his bunk, arming his blaster when Kex walked in.

"What is it?" asked Xarga, looking up the other man.

"Don't know." Said Kex, shrugging.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Xarga put down the weapon and focused on his friend. Something was wrong.

"I mean something's up. The Republic forces are pulling out."

Xarga shook his head.

"Why would they do that? Do they suspect and attack?"

"I don't think so. The locals seem pretty calm."

"Well whatever it is, we don't care." Still shaking his head, Xarga picked up the blaster and began polishing it. "Is everything in place?"

Kex nodded. "Yes and everyone is ready to go the second something happens. We won't be sleeping when the fireworks start."

"Good. I'm sick of waiting." Xarga desperately wanted something to happen, waiting had never been one of his strong points. _This waiting will be worth it though_. He smiled as he lifted his helmet and stared at the T-shaped visor.

-G-

Captain Graves was drumming his fingers on the back of the chair, he was so anxious that he couldn't stay down.

"ETA to target?" he asked.

"Ten minutes, Sir. Seven minutes until we reach maximum firing range."

Graves grinned as he imagined the amount of firepower he would unleash on the ten Mandalorian ships. _I have you now_, he thought. For the last two hours his fleet had been closing on the Mandie ships and he was itching to fight.

"Sir," called the comm. operator "message from Admiral Antillies. He says to pull out and meet him at Kuat."

Graves turned toward the man, a scowl on his face.

"Does he know about these Mandie ships we're about to pound into dust?"

"No, Sir." Replied the man, shaking his head violently.

Graves eyed him another second then turned his attention back to the upcoming fight.

"Did he say why he wants to meet at Kuat?" he asked, secretly hoping that the Mandies would attack Kuat and prove him right.

"He didn't say." Was the answer he got.

Graves looked at the ten ships facing him and said to the comm. operator.

"Tell group three to head toward Kuat. We'll be right behind them."

"Yes, Sir." The comm. operator began relaying the message.

Graves finally forced himself to sit down and began chewing his lip. He wanted this fight badly. He needed it. He stared at the hologram depicting the system and saw group three jump to hyperspace. He didn't need them to defeat ten ships.

He was just about to order the gunners to target the enemy ships, which were still out of firing range, when an alarm began wailing and the sensor operator began yelling.

"Incoming!"

As Graves shot out of his chair he saw, on the large hologram, the Mandie ships firing missiles.

"Evasive maneuvers!" he shouted.

Over a hundred torpedoes were launched for the Mandalorian ships. These torpedoes were targeted at the flanks of the Republic formation. Small and agile many of them survived the Republic's panicked volley and hit home. Shields glowed milky white were hit as the energy spread over them. Stressed from having held back the destructive power of the torpedo that hit first, many shields fell almost instantly when another torpedo hit them. Part of the explosion's force was held back, but a greater part reached the hull were it blackened armor plates and destroyed guns. One frigate exploded from the first hit, it's shields suffering a malfunction that caused them to lower.

Of the left flank a Captain stared in horror at the golden explosion in front of his ship. He never saw the second torpedo that went straight through the shields and smashed against the transparentsteel viewport. The torpedo's nose exploded, sending broken shards and shrapnel through the bridge to scythe through the crew. As his ears popped with the sudden drop in cabin pressure the Captain barely had time to realize that shards had passed through his body, that the end section of the torpedo exploded, sending the middle part-which housed the main ordnance- forward. As soon as that section went past the shattered viewport, before the explosion form the front section had even reached the Captain, it exploded. The second explosion tore the bridge into pieces, sending molten parts of it sailing through the void. The rest of the ship began drifting aimlessly until it collided with a cruiser and began tearing into it. The two ships, locked in an embrace of death, tore one another apart as their engines kept pushing them forward.

With the flanks of his fleet under heavy bombardment from a second and third torpedo salvo, Graves began issuing orders for the ships in the back of the formation to come in above and below his ship in order to avoid the incoming torpedoes. No sooner had he given this order that he saw the incoming Mandalorian fighters.

The fighters were arranged in a loose formation in order to be able to slip through the tight Republic formations. The Aureks shot forward in an attempt to stop the Mandalorian ships but those pilots simply avoided the tight clusters of Republic fighters. Without firing a shot the Mandalorian fighters bypassed the Republic fighter screen and found themselves amid the capital ships. Fearing for the safety of their fleet, the Aurek fighters turned around and pursued the Mandalorian fighters. A fierce furball came in existence in the middle of the Republic formation.

Sitting in his fighter and smiling as an Aurek blew up under his laser barrage, Ergon smiled grimly to himself. The Mandalorian flew his ship through the expanding cloud of debris and fast cooling metal that was once an engine of death and glanced at his sensors. His squadron was doing well, having managed to scatter the Aurek fighters that had ambushed them when they passed by a disintegrating cruiser.

"Krayt Four to Lead." Said a voice over his comm. on the squadron frequency.

"Lead here." He said while he angled in on a heavy Republic fighter. "What is it Four?"

"I think you picked up a tail."

Ergon looked at his sensors and saw the Aurek behind him.

"Care to give me a hand here?" he asked.

"What you can't shake one Republic pilot?"

"I can" he said as he opened fire on the ship in front of him "but I'm hunting here."

The voice on the other end sighed.

"All right, Lead. I'm coming."

Nodding to himself, Ergon fired another blast only to see the Aurek dive under his shot. He lined up again and before he could fire, his ship shook as something hit his shields. Glancing at his sensors he saw the aft shields were weakened. He ignored the enemy behind him and lined up again on the guy in front. The Aurek shot straight up and began spiraling, changing his target profile to make him harder to hit.

Ergon climbed up after him. He made such a sharp turn that the inertial compensator had trouble keeping up and he was pressed into his seat. He fired a burst and saw one laser glance of a shield. Smiling he pressed the triggers again and hosed space with his laser bolts. The Aurek juked left and right, up and down and managed, somehow, to evade him. He was just going to fire again when his ship shook again and his aft shields failed completely. He began to take evasive maneuvers when he saw the blip on his sensors, that was the enemy behind him, disappear.

"I got him Lead." Said Krayt Four.

"Good work."

He saw the Aurek level as it tried to intercept another Mandalorian fighter and he smiled. _Got you now_. He fired again and saw his shots punch through the shields. One bolt hit a thruster and blew it clean off, sending the ship into a tight circle. Another shot punched a hole in it's nose while the rest went wide. Cursing his bad luck, Ergon fired again and saw a bolt hit the cockpit, incinerating the pilot in a small explosion that died quickly as what little air was available was used up. _He's dead_.

Stepping on the left rudder pedal he turned the ship around and saw a Republic fighter, it hull a molten ruin, spiraling out of control straight toward him. Before he could so much as scream in terror, the Republic fighter hit him. It grazed his nose, leaving a jagged tear in the ship's hull, and continued on it's course.

"Lead you ok?" asked someone in the squadron.

"Yeah." He barely managed to say. That was close. Too close for comfort.

"You were lucky it didn't run right into you."

"Yeah, lucky."

Shaking his head and trying hard to ignore the shaking in his hands, he dived toward a Republic corvette. He closed in and made a strafing run, blasting off weapons and armor plates. He even saw one shot punch through a viewport and into the face that was behind it. Angling away from the ship he switched to concussion missiles and turned around for another pass. He went in again but this time the corvette saw him coming and the point defense guns began firing on him. He waved his ship in an erratic pattern and, when he was close enough that he was sure he would hit no matter how much he moved the ship, he pressed the trigger. Two missiles shot forth and he pushed the ship's nose down, not really wanting to scrape his belly on the warship's back. As he dived like a manic, he saw the missiles hit. They blaster armor off and opened a gaping hole in the side of the ship.

Dodging a stray laser barrage, Ergon closed on another Republic fighter and fired his guns. His shots punched into the ship's engine. It exploded violently, sending the ship forward on a huge jet of flame, before it died out and left the Aurek a drifting hulk in space.

Grinning at the easy kill and feeling very satisfied, Ergon went to hunt another target. He ignored the frozen corps he rammed into as he pulled away. The corps, now cut in two pieces from the impact, went spinning off into space.

As the Republic fighters went to fight they left the front of the formation wide open. And into that unprotected gap flew the basilisk war droids. Shouting battle cries over an open link, the Mandalorians dived in on the vulnerable Republic ships. Concentrated volleys of missiles managed to drop the shields and the war droids went in for the kill. Using their brawling claws they began to yet again tear away guns from the capital ships. Point defense guns opened up on them, sending firestorms of hot light at them but the basilisks, while taking some losses, quickly silenced them. Unharassed by the Aureks, the war droids went to work with little difficulty. In the opening moments of their assault they managed to disable six Republic ships.

But even though the fierce Mandalorian assault had taken out twenty Republic capital ships and numerous fighters, the Republic fleet still outnumbered and outgunned the ten Mandalorian ships. The Mandalorians, however, seemed not to care. With the dreadnaught _Tracy Kad_ in the lead, the Mandalorian ships went to guns with their enemy. Firing like mad they targeted the ships around the _Reckless_, leaving the flagship untouched, even though it was the biggest ship in the Republic formation. Two Hammerhead cruisers were taken out and a third forced to withdraw from the battle with it's guns and a large part of it's hull a molten ruin in only a few moments. In return, however, the _Reckless_ completely obliterated one battleship and left another a drifting hulk. Aboard the _Reckless_, Captain Graves grinned. He saw another battleship try to get a lock with it's torpedoes and he turned to one of the bridge crew.

"Tractor beam" he said "target that battleship and hold it steady. Try to keep it's left side toward us. Guns" he said, turning to another man "target that ship and fire. Eliminate whatever guns it has on the side facing us."

He smiled as he saw his powerful guns hammer the battleship. It shields resisted for a while but then failed. The ship, realizing it was going to be badly damaged, fired like mad and tried to break the lock the tractor beam had on it. It increased power to the engines but it was to no avail, it couldn't break free. After a few minutes of heavy pounding, the guns were destroyed and the side facing the _Reckless_ was nothing more than a collection of gaping holes. Graves order the ship brought in closer and used as a shield against incoming fire. The tractor beam brought the ship closer as ordered when it's Captain, seeing his chance, ordered the self destruct to activate. The escape pods fleeing from the ship should have told Captain Graves something but he didn't notice.

The ship was close, very close when it exploded like a nova. The force of the explosion sent huge pieces of it sailing though the void. With the shields brought down from the effort of holding back the tremendous energy from the blast, there was nothing to protect the _Reckless_ as a huge piece of battleship rammed it. It tore into the saucer shape of the ship like a knife, tearing into it mercilessly, destroying one of the gun batteries and partially blocking the view from the command pylon.

Graves was just getting to his feet, alarms blaring all around him, when he saw the sensor operator waving toward him in desperation. He got up and went toward the man, almost falling again as something hit the ship again. When he got next to the man, before he could ask what was wrong, the man pointed at the screen in front of him. Graves felt his jaw drop as his guts went cold. Trying hard to ignore the sweat pouring down his face and the shiver he felt along his spine, he turned back to the battle. The sensors had detected two more Mandalorian fleets, one above him and one below him closing fast. Both fleets were as large as his own Strike Group. He was outnumbered, outgunned and outmaneuvered. In short, he was dead and he knew it.

Sitting down in his chair Graves couldn't help but hear the panicked voices over the command net.

"Blue Squadron is down one third!" yelled one panicky voice.

"Coolant leak in engineering! Get those shields back up before we get hit and…" the voice disappeared only to be replace by static as the ship blew up.

"Power out on levels five through nine!" yelled one man.

"Abandon those levels and reroute power to shields!" replied Graves.

Before the shields could be reinforced, the _Reckless_ shook violently as the two Mandalorian fleets fired a salvo at.

"Damage?"

"Hull breach in the upper part of the saucer! Power out on the right side of the ship and our engines are dead."

"Hyperdrive too?" asked Graves, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Yes, Sir." Came the unwanted answer.

"Order the fleet to jump."

"Sir we…"

"I know we aren't going anywhere!" yelled Graves. "Any ships that can't leave will stay with us to cover the retreat." He shot an angry glance at the comm. officer. The man, face white as snow, nodded.

"Relaying order now, Captain."

"Good." Turning his gaze back toward the fight, Graves took a deep breath. It appears he won't be made Admiral because he'll be dead. "All power to shields, guns and life support. Fire at will."

The Mandalorian ships closed in for the kill as the majority of the Republic fleet made the jump to hyperspace and freedom. Twelve ships and the flagship remained behind. They were ready to die and take as many Mandalorians with them as they could.

-G-

The _Kar'ta Tor _and it's fleet came out of hyperspace just in time to see the last Republic ship jump away. Where they expected to see a Republic fleet, they saw twenty rag-tag capital ships. Cheering at the sight of such a quick and easy victory, which would let them take this planet and move on to greater battles, the Mandalorian ships charged in like a pack of hungry kath hounds.

Despite being paid by the Republic to guard this planet, the mercenary fleet had no intention of staying for a fight. They set course for friendly space and put all power to the engines. Even so it was not enough.

The Mandalorian fleet was on them in moments and began tearing through them like a raging wampa through a herd of nerfs. One Trandoshan slaver ship tried to come about and fight back, it's hot headed crew wanting to fight. It got skewered before it could properly turn and exploded. The _Kar'ta Tor_ left gaping holes in a Bothan destroyer and turned it's guns on a corvette. The wall of laser fire left nothing but a few scraps of fast cooling durasteel behind. The crew died so fast they didn't know what hit them. All around the flagship the situation was the same, the large Mandalorian fleet was wiping out the pitiful resistance before it.

As the fleet cleared space of any opposition it began sending landing ships full of soldiers down to the planet.

On the planet the situation was much the same. The instant the fleet had entered the system, panic had gripped the population. It was all the information Kex and Xarga needed. They, and about three hundred Mandalorians, were disguised as refugees and where just waiting for the right moment. When the fleet entered the system, they triggered the charges they had placed on important defensive structures. The command buildings and vehicles exploded, killing all the high ranking officers. The shield generator went up as well, depriving the capital of any defense. The trenches exploded, killing anyone in there. And before the defenders could regroup they found the refugee ships in the middle of the city had began laying down murderous fire all around them. From their cargo holds emerged Mandalorian warriors and basilisk war droids.

The defensive positions that had been established had been rendered ineffective. The war droids and Neimoidian soldiers were wiped out before they could comprehend that Mandalorians were attacking them. Soldiers that tried to defend the government building were cleared away by intense salvos from the fake refugee ships. Neimoidian soldiers tried to retreat and regroup but found themselves trapped by the huge minefield surrounding the city. They turned and fought but were wiped out. A column of battle droids tried to make to the refugee ships and take the fight to the enemy but they spotted by the basilisks. The basilisks strafed the column, leaving only shattered shells behind. The city fell in thirty minutes and the planet issued a formal surrender soon after.

-G-

As the ship began firing at it's target, Derek could barely hold back a scream. Another Republic world was about to fall and more lives would be lost. He sat down on his bunk and tried not to cry. _This isn't happening_, he told himself.

He was so focused on his grief that he almost jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Ulya staring at him, a look of concern in her green eyes. Derek wanted to say something but as he opened his mouth he found no words would come. She moved her hand to his cheek and gently brushed aside a tear that had rolled from his eye. She felt sorry for him, this man taken away from all he knew and forced to sit out this war. She leaned down and softly, as if scared she might frighten him, she kissed him. At first he stiffened, his eyes opening wide in shock. But then, he began to return her kiss as his arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her closer.

Only later would Derek wonder why she did what she did. And only later would he realize that while he was making love, people all around him were dying.

-G-

After several hours of heavy, brutal combat the Aurek fighters that were supposed to be the first line of defense for the _Reckless_ were gone, as were the other ships that had been stranded with it. The turbolaser batteries had been fired so many times that their control consoles were literally melting. The standard laser cannons, lining the hull of the flagship, had all been destroyed. The shield generators had overloaded and exploded. The navigational controls and the main power circuitry had been completely ionized. All that was left was the barely operational and intermittent life-support system controlling the atmospheric scrubbers and the emergency lighting, which constantly flickered on and off, allowing Captain Graves to see no further than a couple of meters in front of him. Although he still had his comlink, which let him give orders, he would much rather leave it off, since all of its frequencies were cluttered with the helpless cries of distress from injured or dying members of his crew that were still trapped in the areas that had been sealed off due to hull breaches.

The number of fatalities was mind-boggling. Nothing in his years of military experience could prepare him for this: most of his crew was dead, and almost everyone left had at least some kind of an injury, ranging from severe plasma burns all the way up to missing body parts. The medical bay was a disaster area: there was no more kolto, there were no more pain killers and even regular bandages were in short supply. The ship's morgue was full to capacity, and he was rapidly running out of ideas as to what to do with all the bodies of dead soldiers that just kept piling higher and higher.

Coughing because of all the smoke on the bridge, Captain Graves stared out the cracked viewport and saw a sight that took out whatever fight he still had left in him. A Mandalorian dungeon ship was approaching, coming to take the remainder of his crew.

Slowly he pulled the blaster he wore from it's holster. He looked at the crew members still alive and saw the sensor operator pressing a bandage to the comm. officer's head, trying hard to stop the blood flow from the severe cut. Silently wishing Admiral Antillies good luck, he raised the blaster. He shut his eyes and tired to ignore the smell of burned circuits and flesh. He pressed the cold muzzle of the gun to his head and took a deep breath that made him sick.

_Goodbye_, he thought to no one in particular. He pressed the trigger and then there was only darkness.

Commenor had fallen and so had Neimoidia and Cato Neimoidia. Talasea, Antar and Denon were next. The grim and cold gaze of Mandalore settled on Duro. The Crusade fleets would continue their unstoppable advance into the Republic. A lot more worlds would burn and many more billions would die before the Jedi would finally intervene in defense of the Republic.


End file.
